Monday, January 5, 2009

Before They Were Porn Stars

Not everyone who makes his or her living in “adult entertainment” got started that way. Sometimes their acting careers began in mainstream movies or TV.

Maybe they even appeared in one of your favorite episodes.

Take Holly Sampson. Since 1998, she has starred in softcore pornos such as the “Emmanuelle 2000” series. She has also worked in fetish videos with titles like “Big Breasted Bondage” and “Tie Me Naked!”

But Ms. Sampson’s filmography at the Internet Movie Database also lists her early guest-starring roles on “Matlock,” “My Two Dads” and “The Wonder Years.”

If you’re a “Wonder Years” fan (I am not), you’ll no doubt remember Holly Sampson’s performance as “Teri,” the older teenager with whom Fred Savage’s character shares his first-ever French kiss. That episode (“Summer Song”) was the Season 3 premiere.

So then... Holly Sampson is an ideal subject for the launch of my newest irregular feature: Before They Were Porn Stars.

The first video below is a 2-minute clip of young Holly in “The Wonder Years” from 1989.

The bottom video is 40 seconds’ worth of bondage-’n’-tickling from a scene Ms. Sampson shot just a few weeks ago. (It’s for sale to download at a website called FM Concepts.)

It seems like she had aspirations of becoming a legit actress and got mowed down somewhere along the way. It is also possible that she just loves sex but being a porno actress is risky! I hope she is able to stack some chips for retirement, else she'll be an old ho who has to run other girls to make a living. I have seen that for myself and think it is sad.

@9:14 am Anonymous: My friend was sent to interview Vanity some years ago and she absolutely would not talk about Prince no matter how many times she was asked. And she tried to get my friend to do Bible study with her!

@M. Chavez: lol, Fred Savage directs network tv eps.

Cousin Judy gave 360 degrees of apologetic reasons for her year-long stint in porn on Oprah, and mom was at the top.

I am always "impressed" with the changes women make from looking "regla" to looking porn-y: the whittled body, the tan, French manicure, fixed nose, added weave and blond hair.

It seems like she had aspirations of becoming a legit actress and got mowed down somewhere along the way.

Yeah, Mahndisa, it's a rough business. People often say that L.A. is the place where the prettiest girl in every town moves to. Of course, you get here and realize you ain't the prettiest girl in town no more. And you gotta fight to out-compete the others.

That said, Holly Sampson was adorable in that "Wonder Years" clip... and she could act. While I wish that everyone could get their dream fulfilled, Ms. Sampson has at least found a way to keep on doing what she (presumably) wants to do for a living.

Scott Schwartz did appear in porn movies for awhile but I think he barely did any actual sex scenes. Maybe you're thinking of Stephen Geoffreys from about the same time, who had a promising acting career playing weird sidekicks (Fright Night, Heaven Help Us) and all of sudden went into hardcore gay porn.

I think I mentioned John Anthony Bailey in another post. I remember him as C.C. on "The Wonder Bug." But, I also remember that he did porn. (Not that I've seen his work.) According to this he entered the porn industry out of "desperation" because he couldn't find acting jobs.

I've been pondering and researching the question on why so many black beautiful American women are getting into porn for a living? I hope the answer is not as banal and facile as "unempolyment"; I'd like to hear their voices as well.

It used to be an assumption that it's ugly, unlovable women that get into porn. But this is patently untrue now. The number of beautiful black women in porn is astonishing.

I would like to know whether have you pondered this question and, as a South African, would like to know your response and perhaps prvide a social matter-of-fact account. Please, less opinion, more fact: I'm not interested in opinion; I'd like to know even the personal feelings of black women porn stars.

For I see so much emotion in what they do; it's unlike a professional porn start who is just going through the motions in order to provide arousal.

And is there a published article on reconised mainastream publications on black porn and its stars? Publications such as Emerge, Newsweek, Time, etc.